Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Saturday, 30 August 2008

East Words takes place at the Museum in Docklands on 2nd October from 6.30pm to 9.00pm. Showcasing some of London’s best poetry and spoken word, this pioneering event provides a great opportunity to hear the most innovative verse this side of the Bow Bells…..

Readers include Forward Prize nominated, Simon Barraclough; the cutting edge Chris McCabe, recently described as ‘the best young poet in London’; Retta Bowen, whose new pamphlet has just been published by Tall Lighthouse to critical acclaim; the dynamic wordsmith Jay Barnard, former Foyle Young Poet of the Year also published by Tall Lighthouse; the prolific and highly talented Inua Ellams, star of Generation Txt and, the pièce de résistance, James Byrne, esteemed poet and editor of Wolf Magazine.

Compered by Christopher Horton and Richard Tyrone Jones and with accompaniment of some kick’n tunes, how could you miss it?

Chris McCabe was born in Liverpool in 1977. He has published poems in a number of places including Poetry Salzburg Review; Angel Exhaust and Great Works. He currently works as Assistant Librarian at the Poetry Library, London. His first book, The Hutton Inquiry is published by Salt.

Simon Barraclough was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire but has lived in London for 12 years. He won the poetry section of the London Writers' Competition in 2000 and has been published widely in magazines such as Poetry Review, The Manhattan Review, Time Out and the Financial Times. His work has also been broadcast several times on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. His debut collection Los Alamos Mon Amour was published by Salt in April 2008 and has just been shortlisted by the Forwards for Best First Collection. Laurie Smith recently wrote that "Barraclough may see himself as travelling lightly through the world, but he catches the sense of what it's like to live in the modern city more astutely and more often than most other poets." (Magma)http://www.simonbarraclough.com/

Jay Bernard's poetry has appeared in Poetry London, Chroma, The Guardian and The Independent. She has performed on Radio 3 and Radio 4 as well as on The Culture Show. She won the Poetry Society's Respect Londonwide Youth Slam in 2004 and was a Foyle young poet of the year in 2005. Her book 'your sign is cuckoo, girl' is out with Tall Lighthouse. www.brrnrrd.co.uk

Born in 1977, James Byrne currently lives in London where he is editor of The Wolf poetry magazine - regarded as the UK's 'leading independent'. James has also worked for the Poetry Translation Centre@ SOAS; he has also recently recorded for Oxfam's 'Life Lines' series and co-translated the Omani National Anthem. A debut collection of his own work, Passages of Time, was published in 2003 by Waterways and a new poetry collection is anticipated in 2008. James has read his poetry in Europe and America and is currently organising a Wolf tour to mark five years of the magazine. www.wolfmagazine.co.uk

Inua Ellams is a Word & Graphic Artist currently residing in London. Born in Nigeria in '84, he quickly fell in love with visual art and worked solely in this field until he started writing in '02. Constantly striving to merge the two disciplines, his work in both fields is known for its imagery, unashamed beauty and it's attention to detail. Rooted in a love for rhythm and language, and influenced by classic literature and hip-hop culture, he walks the line between generations and genres, creating works where the tradition of storytelling is mixed with modern language and movement.

Retta Bowen won an Eric Gregory award in 2006 and her pamphlet, The Ornamental World, was published by Tall Lighthouse in April. She is training in child psychotherapy and currently works at the Guardian, in a London primary school and an independent bookshop in Peckham.

Organised by

Christopher Horton

Christopher Horton lives and works in London. His poems have been published (or are forthcoming) in Iota, Dream Catcher, Other Poetry and Ambit as well as other magazines. He has written a number of reviews, including for The London Magazine.

Richard Tyrone Jones hosts popular poetry night 'Utter!' on the lastWednesday of the month at the Salisbury Pub, N4, and the last Sundayof the month at the Arcola Theatre, Dalston. His poems, stories andarticles have appeared in The Fix, Rising, Brittle Star, Delinquentand Trespass magazines and Tales of the Decongested Vol II. His firstbook, 'Germline' is forthcoming in late 2008.